The house that Mouse built, Disney, is on a bit of a rampage when it comes to its upcoming release slate. So much so that the company's cinematic arm has announced a bevy of release dates for some of its most-anticipated upcoming films. Mondays
But it's not all new news, either: some of the movies are completing a rousing rendition of the Release Date Shuffle. The films getting new wide dates are Pirates Of The Caribbean 5, with a new release date of July 10, 2015. The hotly-anticipated, Tina Fey-fronted The Muppets 2 will roll into theaters on March 21, 2014, and the what-the-heck-is-this-movie, no-seriously-what-is-it-all-about-project from Damon Lindelof and director Brad Bird titled 1952 got a new date of December 19, 2014 — just enough time for George Clooney to get acclimated to the 3D world in which this film will be shot.
Unfortunately for those looking for a more old-school Disney film experience, they'll have to wait a little bit longer. The Little Mermaid, purported to be the next film from the Disney vaults to get a 3D re-release ala The Lion King and Finding Nemo, has been removed from the schedule. It had been slated for a September 13, 2013 release.
Check out our full breakdown of the cinematic proceedings, below: The Muppets 2Release Date: March 21, 2014Film will star Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, and Tina Fey. It will be produced by Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman, with James Bobin at the helm. Returning to scripting duties is Nick Stoller alongside Bobin.
Captain America: The Winter SoldierRelease Date: April 14, 2014The Marvel feature will be available in 3D.Film will star Chris Evans. Directed by the brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, the story will pick up where The Avengers left off: with Steve Rogers struggling to accept the modern world and his place within it.
MaleficentRelease Date: July 2, 2014 (originally: March 14, 2014).Film stars Angelina Jolie in the title role, as well supporting players Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville. It will be released in 3D and is produced by Joe Roth, directed by Robert Stromberg, and written by Linda Woolverton.Film is said to be a bit of an origin story about the Disney villainess from the 1959 animated classic, Sleeping Beauty.
Guardians of the GalaxyRelease Date: August 1, 20143D film is a Marvel feature about a futuristic team of superheroes tasked with protecting the galaxy from danger, will be voiced by a cavalcade of characters, and directed by James Gunn.
1952Release Date: December 19, 2014The highly-secretive film will star George Clooney, with direction from Brad Bird, and a script/producer in Damon Lindelof.
Pirates of the Caribbean 5Release Date: July 10, 2015Film stars Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. It will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and written by Jeff Nathanson.
Looking forward to any of these films? Let us know in the comments!
[Photo Credit: Walt Disney]
Follow Alicia on Twitter @alicialutes
More:
'Anchorman 2' Gets Release Date: 12 Ways to Prepare for Ron Burgundy's Second Coming
'Les Miserables', 'I, Frankenstein' and the Release Date Shuffle
Release Date Shuffle: Matt Damon Sci-Fi 'Elysium' Bumps 'Robocop' to 2014
From Our Partners:
Megan Fox’s 12 Hottest Moments (Moviefone)
Golden Globes: Tina and Amy’s Best Zinger’s (Moviefone)

A kids’ movie without the cheeky jokes for adults is like a big juicy BLT without the B… or the T. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted may have a title that sounds like it was made up in a cartoon sequel laboratory but when it comes to serving up laughs just think of the film as a BLT with enough extra bacon to satisfy even the wildest of animals — or even a parent with a gaggle of tots in tow. Yes even with that whole "Afro Circus" nonsense.
It’s not often that we find exhaustively franchised films like the Madagascar set that still work after almost seven years. Despite being spun off into TV shows and Christmas specials in addition to its big screen adventures the series has not only maintained its momentum it has maintained the part we were pleasantly surprised by the first time around: great jokes.
In this third installment of the series – the trilogy-maker if you will – directing duo Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath add Conrad Vernon (director Monsters Vs. Aliens) to the helm as our trusty gang swings back into action. Alex the lion (Ben Stiller) Marty the zebra (Chris Rock) Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) are stuck in Africa after the hullaballoo of Madagascar 2 and they’ll do anything to get back to their beloved New York. Just a hop skip and a jump away in Monte Carlo the penguins are doing their usual greedy schtick but the zoo animals catch up with them just in time to catch the eye of the sinister animal control stickler Captain Dubois (Frances McDormand). And just like that the practically super human captain is chasing them through Monte Carlo and the rest of Europe in hopes of planting Alex’s perfectly coifed lion head on her wall of prized animals.
Luckily for pint-sized viewers Dubois’ terrifying presence is balanced out by her sheer inhuman strength uncanny guiles and Stretch Armstrong flexibility (ah the wonder of cartoons) as well as Alex’s escape plan: the New Yorkers run away with the European circus. While Dubois’ terrifying Doberman-like presence looms over the entire film a sense of levity (which is a word the kiddies might learn from Stiller’s eloquent lion) comes from the plan for salvation in which the circus animals and the zoo animals band together to revamp the circus and catch the eye of a big-time American agent. Sure the pacing throughout the first act is practically nonexistent running like a stampede through the jungle but by the time we're palling around under the big top the film finds its footing.
The visual splendor of the film (and man is there a champion size serving of it) the magnificent danger and suspense is enhanced to great effect by the addition of 3D technology – and not once is there a gratuitous beverage or desperate Crocodile Dundee knife waved in our faces to prove its worth. The caveat is that the soundtrack employs a certain infectious Katy Perry ditty at the height of the 3D spectacular so parents get ready to hear that on repeat until the leaves turn yellow.
But visual delights and adventurous zoo animals aside Madagascar 3’s real strength is in its script. With the addition of Noah Baumbach (Greenberg The Squid and the Whale) to the screenwriting team the script is infused with a heightened level of almost sarcastic gravitas – a welcome addition to the characteristically adult-friendly reference-heavy humor of the other Madagascar films. To bring the script to life Paramount enlisted three more than able actors: Vitaly the Siberian tiger (Bryan Cranston) Gia the Leopard (Jessica Chastain) and Stefano the Italian Sealion (Martin Short). With all three actors draped in European accents it might take viewers a minute to realize that the cantankerous tiger is one and the same as the man who plays an Albuquerque drug lord on Breaking Bad but that makes it that much sweeter to hear him utter slant-curse words like “Bolshevik” with his usual gusto.
Between the laughs the terror of McDormand’s Captain Dubois and the breathtaking virtual European tour the Zoosters’ accidental vacation is one worth taking. Madagascar 3 is by no means an insta-classic but it’s a perfectly suited for your Summer-at-the-movies oasis.

It seems that while the big Hollywood donkeys got their rest after Day One of the Democratic National Convention, President Clinton had a little more partying to do. Especially since he was about to receive Tinseltown's biggest honor.
Yep, that's right -- after he wistfully practiced an acceptance speech with Kevin Spacey's Academy Award (and having Spacey take it away from him) during his famous "Clinton: The Final Days" video spoof, President Clinton finally received an "Oscar" for Best President at the Democratic Party's Welcoming Party Monday night.
The trophy, in true Hollywood fashion, was presented by California Gov. Gray Davis at Paramount Studios. Clinton, accompanied by wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea, joked, "I had Kevin Spacey's Oscar and he was ungracious enough to come and take it away from me just because he won it and I didn't.
"So now that I have one of my very own, I'll be able to lord it over him."
But the real question of the evening was not whether Gov. Davis was hoarding one of the missing Oscar statuettes all this time, but where the "star-studded" part of the evening was to commence. After all, the biggest stars on the red carpet (lined with 'Academy Award' statues, of course) were Jim Carrey (well, actually a pretender, complete with Ace Ventura hair and talking out of his butt) and Marilyn Monroe (ditto, but no butt-talking).
Where were all those high-profile Gore supporters, like TV's "West Wing" president, Martin Sheen, or Kevin Costner, or Dylan McDermott? Where was Enrique Iglesias?
Presidential Partyer Gary Busey By 9 p.m., much to the infuriation of all reporters, the biggest star on the scene was ... Gary Busey. Nonetheless, Busey drew such a desperate press frenzy (likely the largest of his career) that one journalist was asking, "Who is that? Is that God?"
By 9:30 p.m., with press cages bare and reporters sipping Coronas, hope of finding any famous face among the thousands faded quickly.
"My friend thinks she saw Jeff Bridges pull up in a car," one lady offers. We think we spot the skimpy-dressed Christina Aguilera -- until she looks our way. (Turns out we were off by 30 years).
Other sightings included Tobey Maguire, Carmen Electra, Anjelica Huston, Victoria Rowell ("The Young and the Restless"), Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols and '80s popster Tiffany.
Meanwhile, the available star power did their best. Actor Joe Pantoliano ("The Matrix") and Kevin Pollak ("The Whole Nine Yards") made the introductions, the latter bombing through a number of stand-up jokes (including impressions of Ross Perot and Gore's running mate Joseph Lieberman). Celebrity Democracy Readings featured Frances Fisher, Noah Wyle, Laurence Fishburne and Alfre Woodard reciting famous orations by John F. Kennedy and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to name a few.
We'd like to think that Whoopi and Barbra didn't pass the disorganized but ultra-tight security entrance, but we're pretty sure they were hiding out in the V.I.P lounge instead, laughing as the masses sway to "Lean On Me," meant to be a unifying Democratic anthem, led by Michael Bolton.
Yes, Michael Bolton. And no, Gary Busey did not join in.

Sen. John Lieberman (D-Conn.) has asked President Bush to support a bill that would give federal regulators the authority to penalize media outlets to market adult-rated materials to children. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Media Marketing Accountability Act induced in April by Lieberman, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) Reps. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) and Tom Osborne (R-Neb.) are expected to induce the bill to the House of Representatives. The letter contends that the entertainment industry has been "targeting heavily violent content meant for adults directly to our children" and the legislation seeks to "protect" American youth. However, the Creative Coalition, formed by fellow members of the entertainment industry including Robin Williams, Ben Stiller, Lauren Bacall, William Baldwin, Recording Industry Association of America president Hillary Rossen and HBO chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes, issued a statement criticizing the bill and claiming it violates the First Amendment. Lieberman said that his attempt is not to tell the entertainment industry what to create, but to simply regulate the content in their products.